3D design software company Dassault Systèmes has acquired Netvibes, a website that allows the creation of personalized dashboards combining social network updates, news alerts and RSS feeds, the companies announced Thursday.

Dassault Systèmes plans to link the industrial designers and engineers it traditionally serves with the consumers that make up most of Netvibes' user base. It intends to incorporate Netvibes in a new online platform that will allow businesses to gather feedback directly from users to improve their products.

Netvibes allows consumers to create "dashboards" to follow news about particular topics, aggregating information from their social networks, news sites, RSS feeds and a library of around 200,000 widgets or web applications. At the same time, it lets businesses track hot topics and consumer sentiment with its analytics tools, and allows them to publish content by creating widgets for the platform.

Founded in Paris in 2005, Netvibes now has offices in New York and San Francisco. The dashboard interface is available in 48 languages, including English, Chinese, and Occitan, a language spoken in the south of France.

Netvibes is Dassault Systèmes' fourth acquisition in two years. In June 2010 it paid around €135 million (US$160 million) for enterprise search engine Exalead, and in 2011 bought production validation software vendor Intercim for $36.5 million, before snapping up Enginuity PLM, a maker of software for the pharmaceuticals manufacturing industry. Dassault Systèmes did not disclose the value of the Enginuity and Netvibes deals.

The screen was particularly good. It is bright and visible from most angles, however heat is an issue, particularly around the Windows button on the front, and on the back where the battery housing is located.

My first impression after unboxing the Q702 is that it is a nice looking unit. Styling is somewhat minimalist but very effective. The tablet part, once detached, has a nice weight, and no buttons or switches are located in awkward or intrusive positions.

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